Show PLACED HONEYMOON HONEY HONEY- MOON MOO II jg 1 cD Iti 11 SYNOPSIS nOra de Je Toscana was singing In InE E arte which perhaps accounted for Cor Edward Edward Ed Ed- ward Courtlandt's appearance there Multimillionaire Mul Mul- ho he wandered about where fancy dictated lIe He ml might ht be in Paris one day and the tho next Following tiLe the opera he goes Koes to a 0 cafe and Is la ac- ac cased sted by a pretty prett young woman She him the address of ot Flora Floro Desimone rival of or Toscana and Flora gives gives Ives tho the address of or Eleanora whom he Is determined to sec see Courtlandt enters apartments She orders him out and shoots at him CHAPTER IV Captive or Runaway At t the age of twenty six Donald Abott Ab Ab- ott had become a prosperous and distinguished dis dIe painter in water colors cobra Iris Ins work was Individual and at the same time it was delicate and charm charm- ing One saw hie his Italian landscapes as s through a n filmy gauze the almond blossoms Ios oms of Sicily the rose-laden rose walls of ot Florence the vineyards of Chianti poppy glowing Campagna out of Rome Koine His Italian lakes had bad brought fame He knew w very ery little of the theand grind and hunger that attended the careers of his associates His father ther had bad left him some valuable patents pat pat- w wash tubs cleaners carpet-cleaners rand and and other ther saving labor devices devices and and the is royalties from these were quite suf suf- sufficient sut- sut 1 to keep him pleasantly housed His Elis earnings not Inconsiderable ble for tourists found much to admire in both the pictures and the artist he spent Jn tn gratifying his mild gances So there were no lines In his handsome boyish beardless face and Isis his eyes es were unusually clear and happy Perhaps once or twice since his Jils majority he tad returned to America Amer Amer- f ica to t. t prove that hat he was not an an expatriate ex ex- patriate though certain certainly y he was one tie existing between him and Fills native land being the bankers who 0 honored his drafts And who him for preferring Italy to the desolate esolat center enter of New York state where good servants and good goodweather weather are as rare as are flawless emeralds Hate Half after three on Wednesday afternoon aft aft- c Abbott stared moodily at the thew w tarnished weather group by Dalou in he Luxembourg the gardens gardens the Triumph Tri Trl- of His gaze was deceptive deceptive de de- de- de for the r rollicking old bibulous scoundrel had not stirred his critical etense nor impressed the delicate films of i He was looking through fife fifee bronze into the far away things Me Ie mad brad arrived early th that morning all hc way ay from Como to find a thunder- thunder driven In at his feet Across his fluttered an open newspaper Pris edition of the New York All that kept it from blowing ava assay was the tense if sprawling finers fin- fin sacs gH'S ers s his right Tight hand his left hung y t side ic was Such things did neat tappen these unromantic days to celebrities She had written emron on Monday night she would sing ito Un La ra Boheme and on Wednesday She had since vanished vanas van van- vana a as completely as had I wings v and flown away It was Iwas wasI t. t She had left et the apartment t the e Avenue venue de do Wagram on Satur Satur- afternoon and nothing had bee mm or heard of her since At the theIa Ia moment they had hat had to find a a ai for her part in an the Puccini The maid testified that her n had gone on an errand errant of She had hat not mentioned where t. t had said that she would return tin tm tit time itne to dress f for r dinner which conclusively that something cz of the ordinary had befallen herThe her The ne automobile that had carried hen herA had not been her own and the c. c was unknown None of the cr at the opera had been noU noti- afi not any change in the singers singer's plans She had disappeared and they were we deeply concerned Singers were erratic full of sudden Indis Indis- unaccountable whims bute but Che ithe e Signorina da Toscana was one in ina a a. L thousand She never broke an en en- Jf It If she was ill III she ehe said so sat at once she never left lert them In doubt until the last moment Indecision was not riot one of oC her characteristics She was as as reliable as the sun If the directors dl di rectors did not h heir r definitely fronI fron from I her Cher by noon today they would have to dimi d another Marguerite The police pollee began to move and they cd up some curious bits bite of mation matton A man had tried to bribe the singers singer's cl while sh she was sing sing- 0 ing at the Au ambassadors The chauffeur was able to describe the stranger with some accuracy Then Them canle came earne the ng episode In the apartment the tho shot pistol tho the o eC ot the man man the astonished concierge to thom hom the beautiful American would Or o olfen DO explanations The Theman man J t l description given c by 0 IJ I I t. t f r L the tile chauffeur had obtained entrance under false also representations He I claimed to be an an emissary with Important Important Im Im- Im Instructions from the opera There Thero was nothing unusual in this messengers came camo at all hours bours and seldom sel eel dom dam the tho same one ana twice so the concierges concierge's concierges concierge's con con- cierges suspicions had not been aroused Another item A tall handsome handsome handsome hand hand- some Italian had called at eleven cleven o'clock S Saturday morning but the signorina sig elg- norina norma had sent down word that she could not see seo him The maid recalled that her mistress had bad Intended to dine that night with tho the Italian gentleman His name she did not know having been with the signorina but two weeks Cel Celeste Celesto sto Fournier the celebrated young pianist and composer who shared the apartment with the missing miss miss- ing lug prima donna stated that she hadn't the slightest lIghtest idea where her friend was She was certain that misfortune misfortune misfortune mis mis- fortune had overtaken her in some somo inexplicable inexplicable in in- explicable ma To Implicate e tho the Italian was out of ot the question He was well known to them both He had bad arrived again at seven Saturday and was very much surprised that the signorIna sig- sig norma norIna had not yet returned Ho had bad waited till nine when he left lett greatly disappointed He was the Barone dl di Verdi Monte-Verdi in Calabria formerly military at tho the Italian embassy in Berlin Sunday noon Mademoiselle Fournier had notified the authorities She did not know but but she felt sure that the blond stranger knew more than anyone else And here was the end of things TSe ie police found themselves them themselves selves at a standstill They searched the hotels but without success the blond stranger could not be found Abbotts Abbott's eyes were not happy and pleasant just now They were dull and blank with the reaction of the stunning blow He too was certain of the Barone Darone Much as he secretly hated the tho Italian he knew him to be a fearless and an honorable man But who could this blond stranger be who appeared so 30 o sinisterly in the two scenes From where had he come Why had Nora refused to explain about the shot pistol-shot Any woman had a perfect right to shoot a man who forced his way into her apart apart- ment Was he one of those mad fools tools who had fallen In in inlove love with her and had become desperate Or was It some one she knew and anti against whom she did not wish to bring any charges Abducted And she might be at this very moment suffering all sorts of in In- dignities It was horrible to be so helpless The sparkle of the sunlight upon the ferrule of a cane extending over his shoulder broke in on his agonizing thoughts He turned an angry word on the tip of hrs hs tongue He expected to o see s some e tourist who wanted to be informed 0 Ted Courtlandt He jumped up overturning the stool And where the dickens did you come from I thought you were in the Orient Just got back Abby i The two shook hands and e eyed ed e each ch choth oth other r with the appraising scrutiny of friends of ot long standing You dont don't change any said Abbott Ab Ab- Ab bott batt Nor do you Ive I've been standing behind you fully two minutes What were you OU glooming about Old offend you 7 Have you read the Herald this morning I never read it nowadays They are always giving me a roast of some kind cind Whatever I do they are boundo bound to o misconstrue it it Courtlandt stooped and righted the stool but sat down on the he grass his feet in the path paUi the he trouble Have they been after you Abbott rescued the offending paper and shaking it under his friends friend's hose nose said aid Read that Courtlandt's eyes widened considerably considerably considerably consider consider- ably as they absorbed the significance of the heading Eleonora heading Eleonora da Toscana missing u Ban Dahl he exclaimed You say bah It looks like Ute one of their advertis ing ng dodges I know something about singers Courtlandt added I engineered engineered engineered en en- a musical comedy once You do not know anything about her cried Abbott hotly true enough Courtlandt finished the article folded th the paper and returned it and began digging In inthe Inthe the he path with his cane But what I want to know is who the he devil is this mysterious blond stranger Abbott flourished the paper paper pa pa- per again I tell you its it's no advertising adver adver- Ising dodge She's been abducted The blond Courtlandt ceased boring into the earth arth The story says that she refused re reo refused re- re fused to explain this blond chaps chap's presence in her room What do you make of that Perhaps you think the fellow washer was washer washer her press agent was the ret retort rt Lord no But it proves that she knew him that she hid did fd not want the police to find him At least not at that hat moment Who's the Italian sud sud- denly I can vouch for him He is a gentleman gentleman gen gen- tieman honorable as the day is long even if he is hot-headed hot at times Count him out of it Its It's this unknown I tell you Revenge for some imagIned imag imag- ined med slight Its It's as plain as the nose on your face How long have you known her asked Courtlandt pres presently atly About two years She's the tho gem of the whole lot Gentle Gentie kindly untouched untouched un touched by flattery w Why you must have seen and heard her herP I have Courtlandt stared into tho the hole he had dug Voice like an angels angel's with a taco face like Bellini's Bellinis donna and Irish all hil over But for all th tha that you will wUl find that her disappearance will turn out to be a divas diva's whim Hang it it Suds Suda Ive I've had some experience with singers You ar are a blockhead exploded the younger Junger man 0 ii 4 lX i All AU right I 1 am Courtlandt laughed laughe 1 Como Come on over to the Soufflet I Set net and have 11 0 a drink with me Im not dr today tersely Theres too much ahead for Cor mo me to do Going to 00 start out to find her Oh Sir Galahad Ironically Abby you used t to be a sport Ill I'll wager a hun nn dred against a bottle of pop that tomorrow to morrow or next day shell she'll turn up serenely with a statement that sho she was indisposed sorry not to have notified notified noti not fied fled the directors and all that They do it repeatedly every season But Dut Dutan an errand of ot mercy the strange automobile which cannot be found Tile The engagement to d dine ne w with h the baron 1 Celeste Fo Fourniers Fournier's statement statement state state- ment meat You cant can't get around these things I tell toll you Nora isn't that kind She's too big in heart and mind to stoop to any such devices Nora That looks pretty serious Abby You haven't gone and made a fool tool of at yourself have you What do you call making a fool tool of myself truculently You arent aren't a suitor are you An accepted suitor unruffled rather kindly No but I would to heaven that I were Abbott Jammed the newspaper newspaper newspaper per into his pocket and slung the stool over his arm Come Com on over to the studio until I get some money You are really going to start a search I really am Id I'd start one Just juet as aa quickly for you if I heard that you had vanished under mysterious mysterious' cir cir- cir cir- I 1 believe you honestly would You are an old misanthrope I hope some woman puts the hook Into you some day Where did you pick up the grouch Some of at your dusky princesses give the you ou go-by go You too Abby Oh rot Of course I never believed believed be be- any of that twaddle Only Ive I've got a sore head today If you knew Nora as ae well ell as I do you'd under under- stand Courtlandt continued toward the exit his head forward his gaze bent benton on the path He had bad the air of a man deep In thought philosophic thought which leaves the brows unmarred by those corrugations known as frowns Yet his thoughts were far from philo philo- sophic sophie Indeed his soul was In mad turmoil He could have thrown his arne arms toward the blue sky and cursed aloud the fates that had set this new tangle at his feet He longed for the jungles and some mad beast to vent his wrath upon But he gave no sign He had returned with a purpose as ashard ashard ashard hard and grim as iron and no obstacle obstacle ob ob- ob stacle stacIe less powerful than death should divert or control him Abduction Abduction I tion Let the public believe what It might he held the key to the mys mys- tery She was afraid and had taken flight So be it itI itI I say Ted call called d out the artist what did you mean by saying that you were a Dutchman Courtlandt paused so that Abbott might catch up to him I said that I Iwas Iwas Iwas was a Dutchman Yes And it has Just occurred tome tome to tome me that you meant something Oh yes You were talking of Da IDa Toscana Lets Let's call her Harrigan It will save time and no one will know to whom we refer You said she was Irish and that when she said a thing she meant it My bo boy the Irish are notorious for claiming that They often say it before they see clearly Now we Dutchmen it it takes a long time for us to make up our minds but when we do something has got to bend or break You dont don't mean to say that you are going to settle down and get married married mar mar- ried ned Im not going to settle down and get married if that will ease your mind any I Man I was hoping Three meals a day In the same house with the sa same e woman never appealed to me mc What do you want one for Cor each meal TO BE CONTINUED |